say my name...

i went to the geminis last nite. sorta.

it's kind of a weird story. or at least one with some fun twists. i get an e-mail from a friend on friday. she asks me if i'm going to the geminis. i laugh, yah, like i have that kind of money to throw about. but she puts the idea in my head. a few hours later, a different friend calls me. she's got a ticket to the geminis. she's excited. i'm slightly jealous. over the course of conversation, the topic comes up that i should go with her anyways because she thinks she can get me in.

i think about this. do i want to go on the off chance i might get in? this requires dressing up as the geminis are black tie (more on that later). i think some more. it could be interesting even if i don't get it in. it's a red carpet event so i might see something interesting or fun. i can also offer to drive, so that my friend can fully experience the whole event as there are cocktails pre-show and a banquet gala after. i think some more. i ask my brother about the casino. turns out he will be there that night as well. but not at the geminis. think think think. i do my nails just in case. think think think. i have a bath and i smell so yummy afterwards i think, damn! i smell too good to stay home! i am going out on the town! haha

we head out to the casino (and let me say, we are looking fine!) and luckily it has stopped raining. so we are able to park for free and skip the valet.

we head into the casino and walk down to the lobby. we are in the back area of the red carpet. we can hear the screaming but we have no idea who is entering the venue. we can see where et canada has set up but again, we can't see anything. i wait with my friend until she meets the rest of her party and then, i have a seat and watch a little of the procedures. i then head into the bar to grab a drink.

i'm having a drink, watching a bit of the hockey game and doing some writing. i get up and go to the washroom and go to sit back in my chair. the tables are all facing this stage and the big screen tv so there is a space for people to walk in front of me. this guy walks by and totally looks at me. i did not look at him until after. he looked at me first! and not in the usual freak way i get. turns out to be lukas rossi from rockstar supernova. i never watched the show so it's not the biggest deal to me. although i would have liked to have picked his brain about tommy lee. he was in the bar for awhile with a guy, and later i think a couple of other guys joined him (i know his record rep was there). he seemed very pleasant, only a few people approached him and he ordered a diet something. it is possible a wild turkey was ordered at the table but i am not really sure if i overheard that right. plus i was busy writing at the time, so i wasn't paying that much attention. i did want to see how he reacted to the staff. i always feel that's a true judge of character. i would dump a guy in a second, if he was rude to people serving him. unless it was justified. anyways, what i heard sounded very polite. the wait staff seemed more interested to see if gilby clarke would show up. i do not believe he did. however, lukas (i feel like we can be on first names now) did look at me again, when he left. and i felt like he looked at me a few times in the bar. he so wants me... ha ha ha ha ha. (i am so kiddin')

oh, and chicken corn chowder soup there that was really good. and cheap too. i have been so disappointed in soup in restaurants lately so this made me happy.

so, tons of gemini people are coming in and out of the bar. everyone looks vaguely familar in that maybe i've seen you around way. and the dresses all look like bad prom dresses. i decide to get up and wander around the casino. i gambled a little. but i really wanted to play the 'that girl' slot machine but it was always busy. i won a little but lost a little more.

the cell phone reception in the casino is crap, so i keep having to go back into the main lobby to check to see if my friend has tried to contact me. plus i had to text a different friend about lukas rossi. rockstar supernova is her guilty pleasure. of course, i had to learn how to text her but it all worked out.

i am now tired of the casino so i head to the food area and put on my i-pod, listening to garage punk and re-reading 'catcher in the rye'. i have a friend who likes to tell me that every serial killer has read that book. i always counter with everyone has read that book. except the girl who is watching the geminis right now. anyways, i'm grooving to the tunes, and i end up missing two calls from my friend. i quickly call her back and she sounds super upset. 'meet me in the lobby. i have a ticket for you' 'are you ok" 'yah, just meet me'. i'm all freaked out that something horribly wrong has happened. as i going to meet her, i run into my brother, who has won a whole swack load of nickels (almost fifty bucks worth). i quickly call someone to tape the show for me. before i meet my friend, i figure out what was up with her. i see her and i'm like you were peeing when i called right? she laughs, and is like yes. i tell her i thought something was horribly wrong until i put it all together.

we both are 'i have stories but i can't tell you now.' the show is over, but the banquet is still going on. i get to walk down the red carpet to the festivities. there is a huge cable running underneath the carpet. i am surprised that no one tripped on air.

the banquet is under a tent. it's been raining so it's leaking in places. the dress in the tent is so not black tie. there are a few gowns, and surprisingly, not a lot of boobage. and a ton of jeans. and even tho' it's advertised as a banquet, it's more like upscale cocktail/buffet food. however, it is damn good. we tried the asian corner, which was bbq pork, chicken and veggies. my friend was like bok choy! and i told her how bok choy always kinda disappoints me. not because i don't like it. but because i always think it's broccoli at first sight. and i love broccoli so much that i'm feel let down. some guy with funky boots seems very amused by this story.

after that, we head to the sushi corner. and totally pig out there. and then, it’s free wine and martini time. i have now resisted the table i love the most long enough. it is time for the desert table. there is fondue and cakes and pie and i sampled a few things. they are all yummy except for the pecan pie. too caramely. i overheard a few people mentioning it was not up to standards. but the chocolate cake thing was so freakin’ yummy. nobody had started it yet, so i was trying to slice this virgin cake when i noticed i had frosting on my finger. and then i’m trying to pull the cake apart, and it won’t separate and nobody is looking. so i put my finger on the cake to help it out a little. and i think to myself, this is the moment that someone will come up to me that i’m dying to meet and i will have to say, i’m sorry i can’t shake your hand because my finger is covered in chocolate icing because i stuck it in this cake. luckily, this did not happen. but it didn’t stop me from giggling to myself.

the only issue i had with the event was the layout was really poor. it was in this garden which meant you couldn’t walk straight across, you kept having to walk around and around on the garden path. unless you wanted to step into the dirt. the wet dirt.

i had a brief moment of panic when it occured to me that my bitch of an ex-boss might be at the event. but luckily, i did not see her. and i actually do not think she was there.

there were two other tables. the pasta table and the seafood table. but once i started on the deserts, that was it for me. i knew i would go back at least one more time (actually, i went back two more times. the last time, i should not have eaten the whole thing. i felt like throwing up. especially when the busboy nearly hit me in the stomach with a tray) later on, when we were leaving, we came across the roast beef table. it was set up in the smoking section. i guess people like to smoke and eat meat at the same time.

i did see two “celebrities’ in the tent. the first was shaun majumder. who was shorter than i expected but impeccably dressed. the other was mark critch. both are from this hour has 22 minutes. there may have been more. like i said earlier, everyone looked kinda familiar.

now, normally, i like to post all strombo related material into my strombo show recap. but i think these stories fit best here.

overheard in the lobby. two cameramen talking about mr. stroumboulopoulos. and saying ‘the hour’s’ got legs.

while we are chowing down sushi, i say to my friend, you have to at least tell me if he won the viewers choice award. she says no, and i’m like.. oh mike holmes won right? and she says no. oh, debbie travis? no. i couldn’t remember any of the other nominees and she me it was some lady named mary. i couldn’t figure out who she was talking about but later we looked it up. i can’t believe she won. but my friend did say that when the winner was announced, she was impressed because he was the first to clap and he was right into being pleased for the winner.

my friend also mentions that she saw my buddy, mr. stroumboulopoulos and asks, didn’t you see him? i’m like no. he was right behind us when we entered the theatre. i was sure you saw him. he bumped into me, trying to get to sook yin lee or someone who looked like her. he was very apologetic. and then she attempted to describe what he was wearing that ended up being so wrong.

after we had our fill of food, drink and chatter (we made up a movie pitch starring justin timberlake), we went and picked up the tape of the show and watched it. actually, it took us so long to figure out how to hook up her vcr, that we fastforwarded thru most of the show. we were very ‘girl-like’ and picked apart the outfits, men included. not impressed with most of the outfits, including mr. stroumboulopoulos'. my comment on his wardrobe was, hi, i am so against black tie that i am going to wear really bad denim and a confusing shirt. that will show them. my friend originally described piping, i love piping. i saw this rockin' black shirt with red piping and skulls when i was in calgary but it wasn't my size. :(

it’s linked everywhere but here is his skit that he did on the geminis (i haven't done a youtube thing yet, so i wanted to try it out) . the outfit gave me nightmares last nite.


overall, i had a good time, my friend had a great time and it was worth getting dressed up for. i am sure i've forgotten stuff but i will post again if need be.